The rebuild is a necessary evil in junior hockey and Tuesday’s trade of defenceman Logan Stanley to the Kitchener Rangers for five conditional draft picks was a necessary step in that process for the Windsor Spitfires.

When the club’s current ownership bought the team in 2006, veteran assets were dealt away to build through drafts in 2007 and 2008 that paved the way for back-to-back Memorial Cup titles in 2009 and 2010.

The club missed that stepped in 2011 and opted to hold on to veterans Ryan Ellis and Zack Kassian and that prevented the club from making a title run in in 2013.

However, Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel got back on track in 2014 getting a pair of first-round picks in Stanley and Logan Brown and the 2015 draft brought Gabriel Vilardi and Mikey DiPietro, who were key to this year’s Memorial Cup title.

Now, for the only team in junior hockey with three Memorial Cup titles this century, it’s time to start putting the pieces in place for another possible run in two or three years.

“It’s one of those things where we’re rebuilding,” Rychel said of the Stanley deal. “We’ll still have a really good team, but we have to integrate young players and I just thought it was the right time.”

The build and rebuild of junior hockey is something every player understands and that includes Stanley.

“It’s tough to get up and go, but that’s part of the game,” the 19-year-old Stanley said. “You have to roll with it.

“The Windsor organization has to do a bit of a rebuild. If Warren feels it’s best for the organization, you trust him to do the best.”

The five conditional picks Windsor received from the Rangers will be handed over once Stanley, who was a first-round pick of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets in 2016, plays one game for the Rangers.

If he fails to crack Winnipeg’s lineup and is returned to junior, as expected, the Spitfires will receive Kitchener’s second-round pick in 2023 and 2024, its third-round pick in 2023, its fourth-round pick in 2020 and its 15th-round pick in 2018.

“It’s kind of tough,” the six-foot-seven, 231-pound Stanley said. “I never asked for it. I figured I would be traded this year, but I didn’t think it would be this early in the year.”

While picks five and six years down the road might not seem of value for a title run in a two or three years, those selections could be used by the club to pull in a young player like Brown, which the team did in 2014.

As well, the trading of Stanley enables the Spitfires to make room on a blue line that is bursting with youth.

Windsor’s top two picks in this year’s OHL Draft were defencemen in Nathan Staios and Louka Henault. As well, the team signed 2016 pick Thomas Stevenson this summer, took Russian Lev Starikov and want to find a regular spot for Connor Corcoran, who was the team’s top pick a year ago.

“We have a lot of young defencemen challenging for positions and ice time is something we have to look at,” Rychel said.

Right now, Rychel said there are no talks to move other veteran players, but teams will no doubt come knocking at his door as the season goes on in search. Not just talent, but the Memorial Cup experience Windsor’s roster boasts.

As for Stanley, who is from Waterloo, it gives him a chance to go home and to play in front of family and friends in what should be his final season of junior hockey.

“He was great for us and brought leadership and this is a situation where it’s his hometown and this allows him to get adjusted,” Rychel said. “It gives him the opportunity to win in his hometown.”

Stanley, who just returned from summer camp with Canada’s national junior team, grew up watching the Rangers, but he was still struggling Tuesday with the move.

“It’ll be good to start fresh this year and be there the whole season, but, on the other side, it’s tough to leave teammates that you did something special with and won a championship,” Stanley said. “It’s tough to get up and go, but that’s part of the game. You have to roll with it.

“I grew up watching the Rangers. It’s definitely going to be exciting playing at the Aud on Friday nights. I’m looking forward to that, but Windsor is where my heart is. I owe so much to the staff, coaches and Warren for picking me when I was 15 and trusting I was going to get better.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Market to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.